Only a Rainbow Away
by easy target 0019
Summary: Neleh is new in Degrassi, and Craig takes notice, to say the least. Will Manny take it laying down? Predictable summary, isn't it? Maybe, maybe not. I hate writing summaries, because I never stick to them...so, enjoy.


Summary: Neleh is new in Degrassi, and Craig takes notice, to say the least. Will Manny take it laying down? Predictable summary, isn't it? Maybe, maybe not. I hate writing summaries, because I never stick to them...so, enjoy.   
**Author's Note: I'm making some changes. **  
- Craig's dad never died, and Craig still lives with him. Also, no one knows about Craig's being abused.  
- Manny and Paige are best friends.  
- Ashley and Craig never dated, Ashley is still with Jimmy.  
I'll inform of other changes I'm making if and when it becomes necessary.

A Rainbow Away by: tell it to the stars

Introduction

I rolled my eyes and looked up at the princess, standing over me, seemingly ready to attack. "Oh, why don't you just take your stupid friendship proposals, or whatever that was that you just did, and put them up your ass. You don't insult someone and expect them to want to be your best friend. I don't need your fashion help..." I watched the bewildered expression on her face multiply by tenfold. I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. "What, do you need me to show you which way 'away' is?" I asked.  
She looked me up and down, then rolled her eyes. "Right, loser, like I'd want to be your friend to begin with. You're nothing but an emo freak..." she curled her upper lip. She must have been judging the fact that I was an 'emo freak' by my Finch shirt and emo glasses, which most people did. "Just get out of here...it's people like you that make me ashamed to be a teenager," she snickered out a slight laugh.

I shook my head and laughed a little. "Better to be a freak than a carbon copy of every other living person in this world..." I sighed a little. "And its comments like that which make it hard to believe that you belong in high-school. Maybe elementary-school is more your speed, huh?" I pushed one of my French braids off of my shoulder. "If you want to be out of my sight, by the way, you can move, because I'm sticking right here..." I smiled falsely and winked a little. "Just because I'm not a bimbo-Barbie-bitch, doesn't mean I'm a freak, by the way. Now, get out of my face before I break yours..." I glared.

After that, whatever Miss Perfection-Princess said was tuned out of my head. There, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him. All I could do was blink. Back in Henderson, Nevada, none of the guys were at all like him--not even close. Whoever he was, he took me over right from the start. With his curly brown hair, blue eyes and a wry grin, he rendered me completely silent, which took a lot. Normally, I was the one who knew exactly what to say, and when to say it, but he had definitely changed that--and with only one glance (which wasn't even in my direction). I grinned a little, but Miss Perfection-Princess' shoving me in the shoulder suddenly jolted me back into reality. I sighed. "What?" I snapped, rolling my eyes slightly.

She looked to Mr. Perfect and laughed a little. "Oh, right, like Craig Manning would be at ALL interested in a loser like you. I'll have to let him know that he's being eyed by a weirdo-loser..." she scoffed, suddenly being backed by a couple of friends, who were both giving me evil looks, too. "He's taken...so step off."  
I hid my sudden inflammation of hurt, a hell of a lot better than I thought I would. I shrugged and rolled my eyes, acting as though Miss Perfection-Princess was way off-base. "I wasn't even looking at him. I was looking at..." I stretched for something to have been looking at. Thankfully, Craig had been standing in front of a clock. "The clock. Now leave me alone," I sighed softly, hoping she wouldn't notice. My eyes wandered to the side again, back to Craig. He was headed toward me...I reminded myself to breathe and kept my cool.

He gave off a slight smile and looked from me to Miss Princess, then back again. "Hey, Paige. Who's your friend?" he pointed to me and grinned a little. "Or better yet, I'll introduce myself. I'm Craig Manning..."  
I held my hand out and gave off a slight smile. "Friend? Hardly..." I rolled my eyes and laughed a little. "Hi. I'm Neleh Gregor...nice to meet you..." I drastically understated, watching Craig's hand envelop mine and shake it a little, and held back an urge to tell him that I thought he was absolutely gorgeous.  
He nodded and gave off a sweet grin. "You too. How long have you been in Degrassi? I don't recognize you..." he shrugged and dropped his hand back to his side.  
I swear, Miss Perfection-Princess, or Paige, as I now knew her, could have swelled up with anger. She whirled around and stomped off, in a huff. "I just moved here last week...this is my first day..." I explained, watching Paige approach a group of girls, mumble something under her breath and stare at me. "What's her problem?"  
Craig glanced over at Paige and shrugged a little. "I have no idea. She always acts like that. She doesn't want to accept that I broke up with her best friend...it's aggravating..." he sat down on the steps behind us, and invited me to sit beside him. 

I sat down and rolled my eyes, shrugging my shoulders slightly. "I have to say, she's better than a lot of the Princess girls back in Henderson...at least she's somewhat easy to argue with, because I know things she has a hard time understanding..." I laughed a little.  
Craig returned my laugh. "Yeah, I know what you mean. That's part of the reason I'm forced to burst her bubble and not be interested in her..." he explained. "Her depth perception is kind of limited..." he joked, giving off an adorable grin. "So, where did you move from?"  
I laughed a little at his joke, then leaned back against the step behind us. "I moved from Henderson, Nevada..." I kept the details about my move very quiet. I was never going to let anyone at Degrassi know why I had moved from Henderson. "It's a suburb of Las Vegas...so, basically, no one knows that it exists..."

He smiled gently at me. "Well, not a lot of people know that Degrassi exists either, but I can almost guarantee that you'll fit in pretty quick. Maybe not with Paige, but no one really WANTS to fit in with her..." he looked to Paige, curled his upper lip, then looked back at me. "But I bet you'll find a group of friends quick..."  
When he smiled, I melted on the inside. "Thanks. Hey, maybe you can help me...I was about to go and try to figure out where the geometry room is...but Paige came up to me and...well, started being Paige, so I kinda never got a chance to..." I explained, shrugging slightly. "I have everything else figured out. I know where the astronomy room is, I know where the choir room is--I know where all my other classes are...now all I need is the geometry room."

He stood up and nodded, grabbing his book-bag from the ground and throwing it over his shoulder. "Sure, come with me..." he waited for me to stand up, then led me up the stairs and into the school. "So, what do you have first, anyway?" he asked, holding his hand out for my schedule.  
I gave it to him, looking around and feeling as though all eyes were on me. "I think I have French. I'm not exactly sure..." I looked at my schedule as he held it. "Yeah, I guess so..." I nodded in confirmation of my statement. It still felt as though all eyes were on me. "Jeez, what is this, the Neleh Gregor show?"  
Craig laughed and looked around. "Yeah, it's kinda looking that way to me. You're a TV star! A TV star who is in my Astronomy and English classes, too. Be sure to get me some camera time, huh?" he winked at me, then handed my schedule back. "Turn this way..." he guided me. "So, have you met many people around here yet?"

I shook my head and looked up at him. "Nope. I haven't really been anywhere yet. I've been too busy unpacking and preparing for school, all that great stuff..." I sarcastically remarked.  
He half-smiled and nodded a little. "Yeah, moving really bites. This is the class..." he shifted topics quickly, pointing to a door and turning to me, just as the bell rang. "I'll see you in astronomy, okay?" he asked, taking a couple of steps back. "Nice meeting you, Neleh..."  
I held back another shriek and nodded, a mile-wide-smile on my face. "You too, Craig..." I was definitely one for making drastic understatements that day. It was more than 'nice' to meet Craig. It was quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to me...

__

You're only a rainbow away.  
But I'm sitting here, soaking wet, waiting for you.  
You're only a rainbow, just a rainbow away.  
And I'm reaching out, hoping that you see it too.  
But I'm telling you that I'm no fool.  
Cause, I know what rainbows do.  
They fade away, fade away, fade away--away.  
Stormy day found it's way, and I wish I could hold you now.  
I'm only a rainbow away, my friend.  
And if you could see what others see, you wouldn't feel so bad.  
And I'm telling you, cause I've been there, too.  
That storms are like rainbows, too.  
They fade away, fade away, fade away--away.  
Stormy days drift away, and the sun, I'm beholding now.**  
**Rainbow - Fefe Dobson


End file.
